APPLE ‘MOVED CASH TO JERSEY’ AFTER IRISH ROW

APPLE is facing claims it transferred the key to billions of dollars in cash to Jersey in a spectacular bid to continue paying minimal tax, after a crackdown on the tech firm’s use controversial tax practices here in Ireland.

According to the BBC, The Guardian, and The Irish Times, documents contained in the ‘Paradise Papers’ leaks show Apple shopping around for a new – and secret – offshore base for its vast cash reserves after criticism of the way it managed its tax affairs here.

In 2014, emails sent from company legal advisers to Appleby – the firm whose data has been leaked – they inquired about possible destinations for its cash, which now stands at $252billion, and if such a move could become ‘publicly visible’. The secretive firm also asked about whether there was a ‘credible opposition party or movement’ that could move to upgrade lax tax laws, while considering utilising destinations such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Mauritius and the Isle of Man.

To emphasise the level of confidentiality, one email between senior partners at Appleby read: ‘For those of you who are not aware, Apple are extremely sensitive concerning publicity. They also expect the work that is being done for them only to be discussed amongst personnel who need to know.’ In the end, Apple chose to relocate the firms controlling most of its money to Jersey, the small UK Crown dependency with a 0% corporation tax rate for foreign firms.

The Paradise Papers apparently show that Apple Operations International (AOI) and Apple Sales International (ASI) were managed from Appleby’s office in Jersey from early 2015 for a year, allowing Apple to continue avoiding billions in tax.

This is because when tax law here in Ireland changed, it allowed companies incorporated before the end of 2014 to continue being run from tax havens until December 31, 2020.

This gave Apple two months to finalise a move to Jersey, which forms its own laws and is not subject to most EU legislation, making it a popular tax haven.

Apple has been fighting a demand from the European Commission to pay a record-breaking €13billion in back taxes to Revenue.

But it denies it benefited from the Jersey move, and says it remains the largest taxpayer in the world. The alleged activity is not illegal.

Apple said: ‘When Ireland changed its tax laws in 2015, we complied by changing the residency of our Irish subsidiaries and we informed Ireland, the European Commission and the United States.

‘The changes we made did not reduce our tax payments in any country. In fact, our payments to Ireland increased significantly and over the last three years we’ve paid $1.5billion in tax there.’

‘Apple are extremely sensitive’